Healthy eating for children: A New Year’s resolution

After a long and indulgent holiday season, your body may crave healthy foods come January. And have no fear, there is a wide range of healthy snacks and new trends coming in 2019. Susana Victoria Perez has more.
Buzz60

Establish a family habit of eating together at the dinner table; it’s just one way to teach your kids healthy eating behaviors.(Photo: monkeybusinessimages, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2018 were to eat healthier and exercise more. Not necessarily a surprise, right?

For adults, it’s often difficult to stick to those healthy resolutions while working, maintaining a household and managing children.

However, studies show, if adults resolute to healthier eating, so will the children. So why not include the entire family for your 2019 New Year’s resolution to eat together as a family, while also making meals healthier.

Buy Photo

Emine Comer is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for Pediatrics in Brevard.(Photo: Craig Rubadoux/Special to FLORIDA TODAY)

Parents and caregivers can be great role models for children when it comes to healthy habits. For younger children especially, the choices and behaviors parents exhibit regarding food and nutrition will likely have a lifelong impact.

So, the New Year is a perfect time to integrate a few easy resolutions to enhance successful eating patterns for the entire family.

No. 1: Set the example

As a parent, your decisions about food can have an impact on your children.

When possible, choose to eat from all food groups including whole grains, vegetables, fruit, lean protein and low-fat dairy.

No. 2: Drink more water

Always have your child take a refillable water bottle to school. Children who are regularly offered water instead of juices or sugary drinks seemingly prefer to drink water; and compared to other drink options it is also the least expensive.

It’s also important to note, water keeps the body hydrated, improves mental focus, aids digestion and is better for dental health.

No. 3: Snack wisely

Limit sugar, salt and sweets. Chips, cookies and candy are very appealing snacks but are empty calories with very little nutrition.

Snacks don’t necessarily need to be completely banned from your diet but should be replaced instead with healthier options like whole grain crackers and cheese; nut butter and apple slices or air-popped popcorn.

Pediatrics in Brevard’s Emine Comer, APRN, CPNP, is certified in pediatric primary care by the Pediatric Nurse Certification Board. Comer received both her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida, Gainesville.